This invention relates to a system for mounting a member to a support surface such as a floor, for an application such as a rail associated with a mobile file or storage system, and more particularly to a mounting system in which the member is mounted to the support surface without penetrating the support surface.
In a mobile file or storage system, a series of parallel rails are mounted to a support surface such as a floor. The rails support a number of mobile carriages to which files, shelves or other storage units are mounted. The carriages are movable on the rails so as to provide high density storage in which aisles between the storage units are eliminated, in a known manner.
In a prior art construction, the rails are secured to the floor by means of a series of spaced anchors that extend into the floor. Typically, each anchor includes an upwardly extending threaded shank, which extends through an opening in one of a series of mounting plates secured to the rail. A threaded nut is engaged with each shank, and functions to clamp the plate to the floor so as to secure the rail in position on the floor. The typical prior art construction includes the use of one or more shims to level the rail at the location of each mounting plate. This type of rail mounting system is suitable for mounting a rail to a conventional concrete floor to which conventional anchors can be secured.
In some applications, a site for a mobile storage system has a floor constructed of a series of precast concrete members, which are typically low profile concrete beams with tensioned reinforcing rods or cables. Conventional anchor bolts cannot be used to mount rails to this type of floor, in that penetration of the precast member weakens its strength and runs the risk of striking the tensioned reinforcing cables or rods contained within the precast members.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for mounting a member such as a rail to a support surface such as a floor, without penetration of the floor. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a system which includes a feature for adjusting the elevation of the rail, so as to provide the ability to level the rail. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a system which is relatively simple in its components and which enables a rail to be mounted to a support surface in an efficient manner and with a minimal number of steps.
In accordance with the present invention, a system for mounting a member such as a rail to a support surface includes a base member, such as a base plate, which is secured to the support surface by use of an adhesive. An intermediate mounting member is secured to the rail, and the mounting member in turn is secured to the base member. The mounting member, which may be in the form of an anchor plate, is preferably secured to the base plate such that a space is defined between the base plate and the anchor plate. The mounting system includes an adjustment feature by which the dimension of the space can be varied, so as to enable the rail to be leveled. When the rail is in a desired position, a fluidic cementitious material, such as grout, is injected into the space between the base plate and the anchor plate, so as to fix the height of the anchor plate and thereby the elevation of the rail. In one form, the adjustment feature includes one or more threaded leveling screws that bear against the base plate and which are operable to vary the elevation of the anchor plate, and thereby the rail, relative to the base plate. The leveling screws are threadedly engaged with any satisfactory component, e.g. a leveling plate located between the rail and the anchor plate. To maintain the desired elevation of the rail prior to application of the grout, the anchor plate is secured in position by a retainer arrangement, e.g. retainer screws and associated engagement members such as nuts, which extends between and interconnects the base plate and the anchor plate. The retainer arrangement functions to apply downward pressure on the anchor plate, while engagement of the leveling screws with the base plate maintains the desired space between the anchor plate and the base plate. The leveling screws can then be removed after the grout is injected between the anchor plate and the base plate, and has set. A topping layer of concrete may then be applied between the rails so as to encapsulate the base plate and the anchor plate while leaving the upwardly facing portion of the rail exposed, to embed the rails within the floor.
The invention contemplates a method of mounting a member such as a rail to a support surface, as well as a mounting assembly for mounting a member such as a rail to a support surface, substantially in accordance with the foregoing summary.
Various other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following description taken together with the drawings.